Heaven Is Just A Rumor
by zoenen
Summary: Set after Imaginary Friends. Wyatt returns to his present to find his brother and sister in need of help. Meanwhile, as Piper prepares for a family dinner, something goes wrong with a vanquish and a familiar guest shows up in their attic. He's not alone.
1. Just Whose Reality Is It Anyway? pt 1

**A/N.** This is my first Charmed fiction, or at least the first I'm willing to post. I had the idea stuck in my head for a while now and started to write it out. This might just become a series starring Wyatt, and of course his siblings, Chris and Melinda, along with their cousins, whose names will be revealed later. Cole and this "mystery guest" will be featured in it a lot too, and seeing as I'm a huge Cole/Phoebe shipper, I will hope to do them justice. There will be appearances made by Prue and others, too.

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**one.** _just whose reality is it anyway? _prt. 1

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"Where the hell is Wyatt when you need him?"

Chris' question was left unanswered as he used his telekinetic ability to deflect a fireball heading his way. He was hidden behind one of the sofas in the Halliwell Manor as he watched his sister freeze two out of four demons that they were facing.

"I don't know!" his sister shouted back at him, waving her hands in mild desperation. A vase blew up right in a demon's face, and she smiled in silent victory, even though she hadn't meant for that to happen. Her cheering was interrupted by a fireball, torching the sofa.

"Chris, we need to do something!"

"You're telling_ me_?"

They didn't hear their front door creaking open due to their quibbling, announcing a visitor.

"Anyone home?" A voice echoed through the household and a head full of auburn curls stuck itself around the corner. Frowning lightly, she noticed that it was oddly quiet in the home of the Halliwells-something that rarely happened, to her personal experience-and pushed the door open. Walking inside, she was about to open her mouth and call out for someone when Chris' voice quickly warned her. "Duck!" he shouted, and she did what she was told just in time before a fireball zoomed past her head. This should have tipped her off and this should have made her run for the hills–flying fireballs, what in the world?-but instead she straightened to see what the heck was going on.

"Mel-" that's the furthest she got, before Melinda's hands flicked in her direction and she froze, her mouth still half-open. Chris stared into her direction before turning towards his younger sister, baffled.

"Damn it, Mel, why the hell did you freeze her? That makes her an easier target, because _she can't move_!" Chris Halliwell snarkily commented to his sister, rolling his eyes and ignoring the demons that were advancing on them for just a moment.

"Well, _excuse_ me that my father wasn't a white-lighter anymore when he conceived me and I didn't get those _stupid_ orbing powers! You're lucky I didn't freaking blow her up!" She still didn't have that power under her control, which annoyed her endlessly.

"Watch it!"

Another fireball blasted at them at full speed, and Melinda didn't have enough time to raise her hands – she prepared herself to be hit and to be hurt, but instead the fireball moved into another direction. She stared at Chris, asking him with her eyes whether he had done it, but he shook his head. And that only meant one thing -

"Lillian, up!"

- Wyatt's voice boomed throughout the room, and the familiar set of white and blue orbs carried the frozen young woman towards one of the many rooms upstairs. He shot his siblings a look that instantly made them stop all their squirreling, and then turned towards the demons.

"Guess Mom sent me back just in time to see your asses being kicked," Wyatt Halliwell remarked, unable to help himself from smirking silently. While his words were directed towards his brother and sister, he was still focusing on the two snarling figures in front of him.

"We were handling them just fine, thank you!" Melinda Halliwell quipped, tossing her head full of brown hair back just to stare defiantly at the ceiling in a way of saying she didn't need his help. In all honesty, she did, but falling back on her eldest brother was something she often did but didn't want to. Just because he was Twice-Blessed didn't mean he could play the boss over her. But in all honesty, she loved him because he did.

Fed up with all the talking, the demon on the left shot a fireball at the eldest son, whom Wyatt deflected without even a squint of his eyes. It changed its direction and instead hit the demon, who screamed before dissolving into nothing. The other demon looked frightened and alone, and used his brain instead of his brawn: he fled, shimmering out.

"So the next time I get orbed somewhere while frozen, please give me a warning so I don't end up walking into a wall!"

The young woman dubbed Lillian by Wyatt folded her arms across her chest just as she stepped down from the last flight of stairs, shooting Chris a meek glare when he sniggered at the thought of her walking into a wall. "And where have you been?" Lillian Belland then demanded, gaze now on Wyatt who grinned into her direction, as though he was in deep thought.

"You remind me of Mom."

"I'll take that as a compliment," a new voice added to the conversation, smiling warmly at Wyatt. Piper Halliwell strode into the room with an air of order around her, carrying groceries meant for the kitchen. "How was your trip, sweetie?" Her gaze ran around the room after her question, noticing a broken vase and her torched sofa. She didn't need to ask what that was about, but smiled in silent relief when noticing everyone was just fine. They'd get scowled later for allowing the furniture to be destroyed.

"You knew where he was?" Chris asked his mother, looking at her in disbelief. "We looked for him for hours!"

"Yeah, like one, and then I got bored," Melinda added, smirking lightly into her eldest brother's direction. Truth be told, she had been incredibly worried when Wyatt had just disappeared in a swirl of white orbs without saying anything. Chris rolled his eyes into her direction, obviously knowing this.

"Could Melinda and I take your bags, Piper?" Lillian intruded the conversation, smiling at Piper while Melinda raised her eyebrow at her best friend's strange request. Her friend nodded her head into the kitchen, and Melinda got the message: she'd tell her when they were out of ear-shot.

"Sure, Lilly. Thank you." Piper handed one of the bags to the girl, and then the other to her daughter who huffed under the weight. "Leo is outside with the other bags, talking to our new neighbors."

Wyatt orbed an apple from one of the grocery bags and took a bite, the question of how his trip had gone forgotten. "New neighbors?" he questioned, watching his mother nod. "Who are they?"

"Oh, I don't know. I'm just happy we got rid of Mrs. Finkelstein, that nosy b-" Piper noticed the look her son gave her and corrected herself, "That nosy _but kind woman_."

Wyatt laughed, knowing better.

"So how was it, sweetie?" Piper pressed on, wanting to know what her son thought of her past self. Wyatt shrugged, but smiled at the same time. "It was weird, but kind of cool seeing myself at such a young age."

Piper raised her eyebrow, "Yourself? What about me?" Her son laughed and she scrunched her nose at him in amusement.

"You were the same you've always been."

"Let's pretend that's a good thing!" Chris cheerfully came in-between, having kept silent for a while as he avoided his mother's hand that tried to smack him playfully.

"Guess I'm just glad to be back." Piper smiled at her eldest son and ruffled his hair affectionately before walking into the kitchen to help her daughter.

A silence engulfed the two brothers before Chris cleared his throat. "I totally could have handled those demons on my own, man."

Wyatt laughed, sinking his teeth back into the apple in his hands.

"Only in your dreams, baby brother. Only in your dreams."

As soon as she'd put the groceries on the counter, Melinda turned to look at her friend, hand on her hip. "Okay," the brunette said, "Spill it."

"There's a party tonight-" before she could continue, Piper barged into the kitchen, smiling sweetly at her daughter and her friend. "No."

Melinda huffed, now folding her arms. Lilly wisely zipped her mouth shut. "But _mom_, she didn't even finish-"

"I said no, Mel. You know we're having a family dinner." Piper turned her gaze on the girl she'd come to see as one of her own ever since Glen and his wife, Jessica, had settled down in the neighborhood. She smiled as she remembered the tension between her sister, Paige, and the couple, but everything had gone smoothly and they were now considered a part of the family. "And you, Lillian, you should know better. Now, Glen asked me to tell you to come home so you can freshen up. I'm sure he's glad we've not postponed it again."

As the elderly woman prepared to make dinner, Melinda rolled her eyes good-humouredly and smiled as she told her friend goodbye. Wyatt came into the kitchen just as Lilly walked out, smiling up at his large frame. "I'll see you later, Wy," and then, loudly, "_Bye, Chris_!" Chris didn't respond, but Wyatt knew why.

"Mom, we have to use the kitchen for a vanquishing potion. Chris is upstairs with the book. He said the demon we fought about a minute ago usually come in large groups."

Melinda asked, "You think he'll be back?" while Piper sighed and asked, "_Now_?" at the same time.

"Yes," Wyatt replied to his sister, before turning to his mother and echoing, "_Yes_."

"Fine," Piper left the kitchen to find her husband, "But you better hurry!"

Melinda leaned her elbows on the table as she watched her brother prepare the potions. Wyatt had inherited their mother's potions skills, while Chris has inherited Piper's cooking skills. Apparently, she had inherited her father's lost puppy look and the ability to do nothing but watch. While her brothers heavily denied it, she knew better.

"So," she cleared her throat, "What do you know about this party?"

Wyatt shook his head.

* * *

Phoebe Halliwell tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for her family to get ready. She watched as her daughters flew past each other, one missing her favorite shirt, the other looking for her lip-gloss, the last hopping around on one shoe. She smiled as she realized that they were just like her on her age.

"Are we ready to go?" Coop asked after he hearted in. He looked at their home, which was in a state of disarray before he laughed, "Guess not."

"I'm ready," Posy Halliwell mumbled after she'd found her shoe, adjusting the strap before she walked to her parents. "Pen thought it'd be funny to hide my shoe."

"I did not," Phoebe's youngest, Penelope, answered from – wherever she was. Phoebe didn't quite see her, but could hear she was annoyed. At sixteen, Penny was still in the 'stubborn and pig-headed' phase most Halliwells were in around that age, despite being a good kid. Unlike her sisters, she hadn't taken up the habit of smoking just to piss off her parents and had never even touched a beer. Phoebe couldn't be more proud of her.

"Stop it, you guys," the middle sister intervened as she walked into the room before there could be another argument. Peyton Halliwell reminded her so much of Piper that whenever Phoebe looked at her, she felt she was looking at Piper. Especially when she would stop her siblings from arguing, it took Phoebe back to the days when she'd do nothing but argue with Prue. She smiled fondly at the memories before she took a glimpse at her watch.

"We need to go, sweetie," she called to Penelope who still hadn't come out, "We're already late."

"I'll meet you there," came Penelope's shout, and Phoebe looked as though she wanted to protest, but didn't. "Let's just go, mom." Posy took her father's arm as Phoebe took the other, smiling when Peyton faded out on her own. It was strange, as Posy was the only one not to have inherited her father's ability to travel. Still, despite everything, it didn't get her daughter down.

Posy closed her eyes when she felt the familiar pull of fading, as despite having traveled like it for almost twenty-two years, she still felt uncomfortable doing it. Peyton was already there, asking her aunt something. Posy could only hear half of it, ".._Chris and Wyatt_?"

A loud crash interrupted them, but Piper answered, calmly. "They're in the attic, vanquishing a demon."

"D'you think they'll manage?" Phoebe asked, just when orbs filled the air. Posy smiled brightly when she saw Paige, Henry, and Henry Jr. Like herself, Henry Jr. was the only one in _his _family to not have received the ability to orb. The two of them had a connection because of it. Despite the fact Melinda didn't have the power either, she wasn't as close to them as they were to each other. Henry Jr. smiled at her before more orbs descended from the air, and this time they revealed Paige's daughters.

Patty Mitchell dropped her sister's hand as soon as she noticed she was on safe ground, disgruntled. "You are so lazy. You couldn't have orbed on your own?" she asked her sister, who laughed, thoroughly amused. "Why would I when you were already in the middle of it?" Pandora Mitchell answered.

"Now, girls," Henry Sr. warned them, while Paige shook her head. "Hello, sisters," she chirped, "Did Wyatt come back yet?"

Piper nodded and smiled at them in greeting, before she turned back to Phoebe. "I'm sure they're fine."

A sudden scream startled them, and then Wyatt called out, "_Mom_! _Dad_?"

Piper blinked, before she rose from her seat, ready for action. "Or not."

They all hurried to the attic, and the stairs creaked under the weight of sixteen people rushing up. Piper was the first to barge into the attic, relief washing over her as she saw her sons and daughter safe and in one piece. Leo, too, felt the same as he walked in. It was only then that they, together with the rest of the family, noticed what the three young adults were staring at.

Piper stared, before she tilted her head to the ceiling. "You have to be kidding me," she said, as though she were talking to someone. In this case, her words were directed at the Elders. Coop looked at his wife alarmingly as he felt her heart literally skip a beat, her heart rate erratic. Paige's mouth opened, while Henry was just plain lost. Leo looked at the man completely passive.

In their attic stood none other than Cole Turner.

And he wasn't alone.


	2. Just Whose Reality Is It Anyway? pt 2

**A/N.** Thanks for the reviews! I hope there will be more because I tend to update a lot faster with encouragement! Here's another chapter for y'all.

To **lizardmomma**, thanks for pointing that out! My spell check automatically corrects Wyatt to Wyat (and "The Elders" to "the elders") so I hadn't noticed.

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**two.** _just whose reality is it anyway? _pt. 2

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"What kind of sick game is this?"

Cole snarled, but it was the boy, no, _man_, Phoebe thought, that spoke. She was able to read a wide range of emotions from him, the most evident one being anger. She felt like she had to console him somehow and took a step forward without knowing why. In response, as did Cole, threateningly. Phoebe halted in mid movement and lowered her eyes to the floor, unsure of where her sudden need of wanting to help the stranger came from. But, she thought as she looked back up, he looked so familiar. He _felt_ so familiar.

Cole, who had raised his arm, looked beaten and rugged. Different from the Cole they all remembered, but that didn't make Paige trust him more. Couldn't the bastard just stay dead when they wanted him to?

"What the hell are you doing _here_?" Piper was the one that spoke, as she took Melinda by her arm, telling her to stay behind her. Melinda, although annoyed that she was still being treated as a baby at twenty, did what she was told. Wyatt kept his eyes trained on the man whose hand was still in the air, his hand curling into a fist. Chris looked back at his family, wondering just what kind of relationship they had with this guy.

Cole didn't answer, so Piper turned to her sons. Melinda was the one that spoke, "We were vanquishing those demons, when Chris knocked against me just when I was throwing one of the potions. It hit Wyatt's and then Chris thought it'd be funny to throw his too. So there was some kind of explosion, and when the smoke cleared, the demons were gone. And they were there."

"You fell against _me_." Chris protested, but Piper held up her hand to shush them. She folded her arms as she thought, staring at the man who had once been her brother in law. "A portal, maybe?" Did this mean that he'd escaped Limbo? She'd never told her sisters about that encounter.

Cole was now watching them strangely, and it was Henry Jr. that piped up. "He thinks we might be imposters." He said, and Paige smiled, proudly. Her son was not the first telepath in the family, but he sure as hell was the best.

"Get out of his head," the second guy snapped, but Cole had lowered his arm by now.

"Ben,-" Cole started, when he noticed the other had tensed, but he was unable to finish his sentence as _Ben_ held out his hand and startled everyone when a stream of fire shot out from his palm. "_Benjamin_!"

No one had time to react.

Phoebe could have sworn she had felt the flames lick her skin, but they never did. She looked sideways just in time to see Posy step in front of her, and fear settled in the pitch of her stomach, fear for her daughter. She opened her mouth to scream, shout, do anything in order to get her to leave, but once again, was halted in the midst of it.

Posy, almost as if on instinct, put her hand in front of her mouth and exhaled sharply. A stream of ice cold air blew forward and slammed against the approaching fire. The fire died out, if only because the man named Benjamin had stopped his attack, his hand folding into a fist.

An eerie silence overcame all of them, and Posy knew that most, if not everyone, was looking at her.

"Okay," Piper suddenly found her voice, going into "mother" mode. "Everyone that's under thirty, get out!"

Everyone that was under that age started to protest, while Phoebe tore her gaze away from her daughter, still stunned about her new found ability, to look at Cole, who seemed to be entertaining himself by watching Piper usher everyone out of the attic. As if knowing she was staring at him, he looked back at her. Her heart soared, and as usual, plummeted.

"It's okay, son," Cole ignored the gasps that came out of the Charmed One's mouths and placed a hand on his son's shoulder as Benjamin looked up at him. "I'm pretty sure they're the real deal. I don't think we're at _home_ anymore." He said the word _home_ strangely, as though it really wasn't.

"My name is Cole Turner," he said, as he directed himself towards the crowd. Coop's eyes widened when he finally realized that this was his wife's ex husband, the one she'd never gotten over completely. He'd broken her heart several times, so no one was surprised when he uttered, "Bastard."

Cole smiled, as though the insult didn't faze him. "I see you've heard of me." he looked amused, the _son of a bitch_, Paige huffed. "This is my son, Benjamin Turner." Benjamin didn't bother to look up, his fists clenched. "Don't mind his attitude. You see, in my time, you're all dead."

"Because of you?" Paige couldn't help but to remark, and at this, Benjamin's head shot up.

Cole still didn't look bothered. "No. Zankou," he watched the sisters share glances. "I see you know about him, too."

"We vanquished him years ago," Piper said, shocked. "How can this be?"

"I think it's better if we showed you." Cole said, before he took a quick glance around the attic. "But first, you can show me what your reality is like." In his time, the Halliwell Manor had been possessed by evil.

"And how can we do that?" Coop asked, albeit sarcastically. He still didn't believe him and he sure as hell didn't want him here, around his wife, his daughters.

"Ben has the ability of _past recollection_." Cole said, as though this explained all. Piper tilted her head to look at her husband, who cleared his throat and quickly explained. "It means he has ability to recall past events, even if he never witnessed or experienced it himself." Leo didn't add that this was a part of post cognition, one of Phoebe's powers.

"I'll do it," Paige stepped forward, the look on her face pure malice. After all these years, she still hated the son of a bitch. She wanted to let him know what he'd done.

"You'll have to hold my hand," Benjamin said, holding out his arm. Paige hesitated a moment, before she did. And then, much to her horror, Cole took her other hand and his son's. He wanted to know about this reality, too. "You have to concentrate on what you want us to see."

"Okay," Paige took a deep breath, unsure of whether she was doing the right thing, before she concentrated on what had happened with their Cole.

The others watched in fascination as the three stood in complete silence, just holding hands, in a circle. It lasted about five minutes.

Cole abruptly pulled his hand from Paige's then, looking as though he'd be ill. "I've seen enough," he whispered, and Paige smiled, almost satisfied. Benjamin stared at their still connected hands like he couldn't believe what he was seeing before Paige took her hand from his, gently. She felt pity for the boy, growing up with this man, this demon.

"That's not how it went," he mumbled in disbelief. He'd just seen his father vanquished by his mother, twice, though he couldn't find a reason to be upset: Cole had been evil, at least in _this_ reality. Still, it hurt. Especially knowing his own mother had vanquished _him_.

"What changed?" Piper asked, curiously. She knew he was telling the truth. She remembered a future that could have been, one where Melinda, her baby, had been her first born and her and Leo's only child because witches were being hunted down. And then there was the future they had, hopefully, changed, where her Wyatt had turned evil and Chris had come back from the future. She still thought of them each and every day, the children she had had, yet didn't.

Benjamin looked up at his father, asking him whether he had the strength to relive it all, again. Cole nodded as he continued to hold his son's hand. In return, Benjamin gestured at Piper to take his. Leo cleared his throat, "I'd like to see it, as well." Henry instantly stepped forward too, his own curiosity getting the better of him. Would he even exist? And then, Phoebe took a deep breath and a step towards the husband she'd vanquished so many times, too. Coop, despite being unsure of whether he wanted to know or not, nodded to indicate he too wanted to be a witness of it. Paige was the only one who still looked like she'd rather keel over and die, but her husband took her by the wrist and hauled her forward.

Benjamin took Piper's hand, who took Leo's, who offered his hand Henry's, who slipped his into Paige's, who took Coop's, who held Phoebe's. Phoebe hesitated as she watched Cole's outstretched hand, before she gently slid her hand into his. He smiled down at her, which reminded her of the time when she'd been happy with him, when she hadn't known he was a demon. A time she'd never get back.

"Okay." Benjamin closed his eyes, before they were all pulled into his and Cole's memories. It reminded Phoebe of her premonitions as they flashed by.

It started out the same. Cole falling in love with Phoebe when he shouldn't, becoming human, becoming the Source. But then it changed, as they witnessed Phoebe walking down to the Source.

_Instead of becoming his Queen, her sisters showed up. Together, they vanquished the Seer. And then they started to chant the power of three spell. It was almost as if a miracle that it worked and the Source screamed in anguish before it disappeared completely. All that was left was Cole, looking beyond shocked. He mouthed, "sorry", before he too, fell down. Phoebe flew towards him and held him as she cried, thinking she'd lost him._

_The scene changed to Leo, trying to heal Cole. It worked, but only to some extent. It appeared that even though the Source had left his body, his powers remained, and Leo could not fully heal demons. Cole lost consciousness once more, and the scene faded to black. Then, when he opened his eyes again, it was days later. Phoebe looked down at him, like an angel, and smiled. Gently she told him to rest and, the words that warmed his heart, "I love you."_

The next series of memories went by in a blur. Cole got better and Phoebe gave birth with the entire family being present. Paige even saw a scene where Cole had apologized to her, much to her surprise. And Piper was startled to discover that she and Cole once baked together, even though he burned the cookies. They were _happy,_ Phoebe realized, as she saw a vision of herself kissing her ex husband. Was this how it could have gone?

And then she froze. That baby. Her baby. Benjamin, he was her baby. "Oh my God," she whispered as she stared at him. That explained why she felt so connected to him. He was the baby she never had, the one she'd – vanquished, not on purpose. She looked sick as she remembered this. "I'm so sorry."

"We'll have time for that later," Cole said, without looking at her. "I'm pretty sure we'll be here for a while."

The memories continued. It was almost the exact same to their reality, and Piper smiled up to her husband as she saw her son, Chris, from the future. Leo winced when he noticed himself and Cole treat the man rather harshly, before all had been exposed. Everything happened almost exactly how it did with them, with Chris dying in Leo's arms and Leo going out to find Gideon.

_Cole shimmered into the cave, watching Leo stab the athame in his former mentor's stomach. He knew it had to be done. "Cole," Leo called, "Take Wyatt up to Phoebe and Paige." Cole nodded, and the last he saw of Gideon was him being stuck down by a bolt of lightning. He walked to where he saw Wyatt, looking scared beyond belief. "Hey, buddy." He knelt down in front of him, and Wyatt smiled, recognizing his uncle. "Want to go see mommy?"_

It was startling to see how well Cole got along with her baby, Piper realized. He was the man Phoebe always wanted him to be. Paige almost gasped when she saw herself, holding onto Benjamin and asking Cole whether Wyatt was alright. They were _friendly. _Henry looked lost, even though his wife explained all to him. Still, it was weird to see it, especially when this man wasn't supposed to be there in the first place._  
_  
The flashes went on. _Chris being born, Benjamin's fifth birthday, Paige and Henry's wedding, Cole threatening Henry to take good care of his sister in law, the birth of Henry Jr. _

"But," Paige intervened, "Henry Jr. was our third. We had Pandora and Patty first."

Cole shook his head, passive. "Not in my time."

_Phoebe giving birth, Cole smiling at his daughter. The name _Posy_ written down on the birth certificate._

Coop frowned at seeing the name of his daughter in a memory where he didn't even seem to exist. It was hard knowing his wife had married another man and given birth to his children, but with the same name?

The memories suddenly seemed a whole lot darker. Piper was the first to die by the hands of Zankou. _She hadn't even seen it coming, the look of surprise on her face as she was turned into ash by a fireball said so much. Cole, who'd been there to witness it, cried out in rage and fired his own fireball at Zankou, but the demon laughed and deflected it._ _Cole was thrown backwards and fell unconscious._

Leo gripped his wife's hand tighter, remorse swelling up at him even though it hadn't happened. Still, seeing his wife, any version of her, die? It hurt like hell. It didn't happen like this. Henry Jr. and Posy hadn't even been born in their world when Zankou had first appeared, and he hadn't been this strong.

But he had no time to mull it over, because the flashes continued._ Henry Sr. dead. Chris slammed through a window, dead. Jessica, Glen's wife, on the ground, eyes lifeless. Leo shot by a Darklighter._ _Wyatt shot in the side by an energy ball which caught him off guard, then a fireball. Paige dead. Glen dead. And lastly, Henry Jr., also shot by a Darklighter, with gashes and bruises all over his face._

And with that last image, Benjamin took a sharp breath and swayed on his feet, breaking the connection. Cole was immediately by his side. "This takes a lot out of him, especially twice on one day," he explained, as he held his son up.

A silence passed them, before Piper that made a decision, still reeling by the memories. "He can stay in our guest room."

And with that, she allowed a demon and his son to come back into their lives.


End file.
